The North, from top to bottom, has turned into a mess. Any attempt to predict what may happen next requires as much luck as trying to pick the exact number and color the ball will settle on at the local casino's roulette wheel.
The whole conference is baffling. After the Wildcats routed Texas A&M 66-14, the Aggies marched into Lubbock and manhandled the Red Raiders, defeating them 52-30 this past Saturday. For those counting, that's a 70-point turnaround. Just a week before, the Wildcats had a 100-point turnaround against that same Texas A&M squad.
Nebraska was predicted by most before the season to win the division with Kansas coming in at second and Missouri in third. Some prognosticators even liked Colorado to finish near the top.
In reality, maybe the only person liking the Buffaloes was their coach Dan Hawkins, who predicted 10 wins for his team prior to the season. Hate to crush the dreams of Colorado fans, I'm sure Hawkins has already done that, but at 2-5, that's no longer possible.
Hard to find fault with the preseason picks, considering the Tigers, Cornhuskers and Jayhawks finished in the top three of the North last season respectively.
K-State was pegged at fifth and Iowa State at sixth, the same spots the two teams occupied at the end of the 2008 season.
The Cyclones entered this year on the heels of an 0-8 conference finish and had a new head coach.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats returned one of the worst defenses in the nation and lost quarterback Josh Freeman to the NFL draft.
But after four weeks, the tables have completely turned over as the two teams picked at the bottom in the preseason polls currently sit at the top. There is a three-way tie for third and Missouri, last year's North champion, sits alone in last after an 0-3 start.
Perhaps that game in Arrowhead, a game that many made a mockery of — that blocked extra point by the Wildcats, meant a lot more than anyone once thought.
It's not that crazy for the Wildcats to win the north. It's actually quite feasible. If K-State can take care of business at home against KU and Missouri, it will likely win this thing. Those games look a lot more winnable now.
Nebraska has the easiest schedule of all the teams, but its offense managed to have more turnovers than points in its 9-7 loss at home to Iowa State last Saturday. The Husker offense has scored touchdowns in three of its last 16 quarters.
The Jayhawks have the toughest schedule remaining with just one home game left and have a defense that allowed 70 points combined against Iowa State and Colorado.
The Wildcats control their fate at home. They are in the best position of any team to come away with this thing. The problem? They could lose every game on their schedule. They could also win every one of them. Any team in this conference can lose on any given night.
That's the thing about the North, it's unpredictable. No, there aren't any dominant teams like the late 90s and early 2000s, but it's competitive from within. And sometimes we just need to sit back, stop over-analyzing everything like I just did, enjoy the games and watch it unfold. Because eventually, that fog will lift.
You can contact Cole Manbeck at cmanbeck@themercury.com.
